


Things Change

by BuckinghamAlice



Category: Batman - All Media Types, Batman and Robin (Comics), DCU, Superman - All Media Types
Genre: Damian Wayne Feels, Developing Relationship, Family Dynamics, Father-Son Relationship, Gen, M/M, Mentors, POV Outsider, Super Damian
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-09
Updated: 2015-02-09
Packaged: 2018-03-11 07:15:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,644
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3318746
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BuckinghamAlice/pseuds/BuckinghamAlice
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A newly superpowered Damian wishes to keep Superman in his place.  However his plans on how to do that must change when he reassesses his father's relationship with "the alien."</p>
            </blockquote>





	Things Change

Damian was still getting used to flying, but he had to admit… he liked it a lot. The feeling of not being bound by anything, even the Earth itself, was incredibly liberating. And one reason he did appreciate flight so much was because it did give him this freedom, a way to get out from under Father’s watchful eye and Pennyworth’s drolly arched eyebrow. This freedom, and his strength and every other newfound power, was a gift. And he appreciated the leverage those gifts now gave him.

He knew exactly where he was going when he left the Manor that night. He was going to make good use of his newfound leverage.

After a few moments, he landed on a balcony outside a Metropolis apartment he had been to once before. Rather than wait, or hope, for an invitation inside, he did what Batman would do, and he skillfully picked the lock on the sliding glass door and stepped inside.

And there was the Superman, the so-called most powerful man on the planet, sitting on his couch watching an episode of _Gravity Falls_ while wearing Snoopy pajama pants and eating a package of Oreos.

And then the most infuriating and almost insulting thing happened.

Without even looking up or becoming shocked, even feigning that he was upset, the alien simply said, “Hey, Damian.”

“ _Hey_?” the super-Robin demanded. “I break into your home while you’re sitting here like a dolt watching cartoons and all you can say is, ‘ _hey_?’”

Clark shrugged. “I heard you land.”

Damian snorted derisively. He had taken special care to land as gently and quietly as possible. The man was clearly bluffing. But Damian let that go as he watched him for a moment, thoroughly unconcerned by the fact that Damian was standing there. He rolled his eyes but quickly surveyed his surroundings. It was safe, he decided, to proceed.

“I’m back,” Damian announced.

Clark nodded. “Yes, I see. And I also already knew.” Then he offered the tray of cookies. “Oreo?”

Damian rolled his eyes. “No. I do not want an Oreo, alien.”

“There are Ho-Hos and a package of Fig Newtons in the kitchen, if you prefer,” the man said casually.

“I’m not here for a snack, Kent!” Damian exclaimed. “I am here to put you on notice.”

Clark looked up for the first time, though he still didn’t look particularly concerned. “Oh?”

“Things are different now,” Damian began. “ _I’m_ different now. And because of that, Gotham now has a superpowered protector.”

“I see,” Clark replied casually.

Damian sighed. “Do you? Because you don’t seem to understand the purpose of this visit.” At that, Damian walked over to the set of barbells Kent kept, merely for appearances. They were rather small, if they were supposed to explain why someone like him was so unusually well muscled, but they were still heavy enough to make his point. Damian strode casually over to the barbells and picked up the heaviest one. He then bent it in half, as if it was made of no more than a pipe cleaner. He then gave the alien a dark smirk.

“No, Damian, I understand the purpose of your visit perfectly,” Clark began. “You intended to use your newfound powers to intimidate me, which is cute. But considering the fact that you don’t yet know what you’re doing with these powers, it just concerns me a little. I’ve been where you are… and I can help you.”

Damian narrowed his eyes. “First of all, I know perfectly well what I am doing. And secondly, I don’t need your help or anyone else’s. If I ever do need help, however, I have my father.”

“With all due respect, you and your father are both out of your depth here,” Clark replied. “And I will say, considering how new this is, you’re adjusting well… but you need to learn a bit about control. That landing you did a while ago? I could help you learn to sneak up even more quietly… even _I_ wouldn’t be able to hear you coming.”

Damian scowled and fumed internally. _How dare he? How dare this alien speak to him like this?_ Rather than standing around and listening to this any further, Damian went back to the door and left the way he had come. The mission had backfired. He had failed. And now there was a chance the alien would tell his father that he had been there.

Superman had been around too much before. Right before Damian had… died (which was still a tough concept to reconcile with), the alien was in Gotham too much. In the Manor too much. Damian felt it would be wise to warn him to keep his distance… but the alien was so pigheaded, things had been thrown off from the beginning.

Now he didn’t know what to do.

&&&

Several days later, Damian was preparing to speak to his father in the Cave before his patrol. The boy planned to ask if he could go along, though his hopes weren’t high. For several days, he had been forced to stay home, and Pennyworth had kept a close eye on him. But as he approached, he heard two voices speaking in slightly hushed tones. One was immediately recognizable as his father’s… and the other almost sounded like…

Dammit. The alien was here.

Damian crept to the Cave’s entrance, stalking silently like he would while patrolling. He was quite out of view, but even if he hadn’t been, the two men were so focused on one another it didn’t seem like they would have noticed him anyways.

“He’s strong, Bruce,” the alien said.

Father turned away from him then, seemingly trying to focus on something he saw on the monitor bank. “I know,” he ground out.

“He’s more powerful than I was at that age,” the alien continued. “He’s adjusting well, but it’s only going to get more difficult. He needs someone to guide him. Train him.”

“That’s what he has me for,” Father replied.

The alien sighed. “It isn’t the same. Look, I just think it’ll be easier with him if you would just… let me help you.”

Father clenched his fist. “We don’t need help.”

Damian clenched _his_ fist, too.

“There’s nothing wrong with accepting help,” the alien said softly. He put his hand gently on Father’s shoulder, but instead of tensing at the touch, Father visibly relaxed. He turned back to face the alien, and they looked at one another quietly for a few moments.

Damian’s fists were now clenched so tightly that his knuckles were ghostly white.

“Don’t push me away, Bruce,” the alien went on. He inched slightly closer.

Father shook his head. “I’m… I’m not. I don’t want to.”

Damian narrowed his eyes.

“We were getting so close to finally getting things right,” the alien said. “I…” His voice trailed off, and Father stepped closer.

Shaking his head, he simply replied. “I know.”

“Before Damian… passed, you and I were…” the alien began, his voice trailing off again.

Father said nothing, but inched even closer and tentatively reached his hand toward the alien’s face. Damian watched, almost breathless, as the alien nuzzled his face against Father’s hand.

“I know you needed your time and your space, and it was only right that I gave it to you,” the alien went on. “But… do you…”

Father caressed the man’s indestructible face delicately, more delicately than Damian had ever seen him touch anything. “Things are different now,” he simply said. They were moving closer together, and Damian watched, realizing his eyes had grown wide.

“Master Damian!” came a voice from behind him, startling him.

Damian flinched at Alfred’s tone of voice and slowly turned to face him, chastised. “Pennyworth. I was…”

“Well, it looked like you were eavesdropping on your father and his guest,” Alfred replied evenly. “But I know that could hardly be the case.”

“Certainly not,” Damian answered, tone clipped.

Alfred nodded. “Because you have much more respect for your father and his privacy than that. You know the boundaries, don’t you?”

Damian cleared his throat. “Of course.”

“Then perhaps you had better return to your bedroom,” Alfred suggested. But judging by his tone of voice, it was a politely disguised order.

Damian nodded. Then, “Did you get the supplies I requested?”

“Yes, sir, I did,” Alfred replied. “I left the chicken nuggets and chocolate milk on your desk. Run along and have them while they’re still completely devoid of nutritional value.”

“Thank you,” Damian replied. He began to leave, but before he did, he glanced back in the direction of Father and the alien. They were kissing.

&&&

When Damian woke up in the morning, he turned over and hugged his pillow close to his body. He opened his eyes and stayed perfect still for a while, listening.

This was one thing he had done every morning since he had been back. Normally he woke up uneasily, after nightmares or fitful sleep, so sitting quietly to calm himself and just take in his surroundings had seemed to help. The ambient noises were soothing… and usually he woke up while Father was still sleeping, so the sounds of his rhythmic breathing and snoring down the hall were also quite comforting.

As he listened, he checked for heartbeats. He had once heard the Kryptonian say that every heartbeat was unique, but he hadn’t quite believed him until he heard for himself. But it was true. Damian could tell if each member of the household was at home just by listening when he woke up. And every heartbeat was accounted for… plus there was one more.

A slower, steadier one. One he realized, almost with a start, that he recognized.

The alien was _still_ there.

Damian rolled onto his back and stared up at the ceiling. This was going to complicate things.

&&&

Clark sat at his desk at the Daily Planet office, typing furiously. This story he had been working on was due on Perry’s desk in less than half an hour, and he had been slacking off for two days. Part of it was that he knew the story wasn’t going to be anything extra special, so it was difficult to maintain motivation. But the larger part was him being lost in memories of the other night.

Finally, officially, Bruce was his.

Clark smiled even then, as he was telling himself to focus. The article wouldn’t write itself, and he couldn’t write it if he was lost in thoughts of his newly invigorated love life.

He went back to typing, but soon he was interrupted. Perry walked up to his desk, and Clark assumed he was there to discuss the looming deadline.

“Sorry, Chief, I should have this piece done and ready for you soon,” Clark began.

Perry shook his head. “No, this isn’t about that, though I do expect to see that story soon. I just came to tell you that the owner – err, someone from Wayne Enterprises is here.”

Clark’s ears perked, but also burned red. “ _Why_? And why are you telling _me_?”

“Because the _gentleman_ wishes to speak to you specifically,” Perry replied. “He’s waiting in conference room A and says he won’t be kept waiting.”

There was something about the expression on Perry’s face. Normally this kind of thing would annoy him greatly, as he hated for anyone to come into his newsroom and act like they had authority over him and his staff. But right now, Perry was amused. At that, Clark couldn’t help but smile. It must be Bruce, there to surprise him!

Clark hurried over to the conference room, stopping briefly outside the door to straighten his tie and smooth his shirt. But when he opened the door, he didn’t find Bruce waiting for him.

There in a suit and tie stood Damian, and he had a very serious expression on his face.

“This is a surprise,” Clark said.

Damian arched an eyebrow. “Well… it shouldn’t be. You claimed you could hear me.”

Clark shrugged and smiled. “Well, I was expecting someone else so I wasn’t paying attention.” Clearing his throat, he went on, “And to what do I owe the pleasure of this visit? So soon after the last one, too.”

“I have two questions to pose to you,” Damian began, taking his seat. He then motioned for Clark to sit down, and folded his hands on the table in front of him.

Clark sat down and nodded. He folded his hands as well, and said, “By all means. Go ahead.”

Damian cleared his throat and straightened in his seat. “First, I was wondering if you would be willing to train with me. Not on a regular basis, of course… just from time to time. As I navigate learning to control my powers.”

Clark smiled and nodded. “I would be happy to, Damian.” He wondered if Bruce had put him up to this or if he had come up with it on his own… but either way, it didn’t particularly matter. He knew he could help the boy, and he felt it would be the right thing to do. And if it meant spending more time at the Manor, so be it.

“Good,” Damian replied in a brisk tone. “Now. The other question I want you to think about.”

“Of course,” Clark replied. “I always think before I answer… I think pretty fast.”

Damian sighed. Ignoring that comment, he went on, “This question is… important. Can you promise me that you will be careful with my father? That you won’t hurt him?”

Taken aback, Clark’s brows knit together as he sat even straighter. “What do you mean? And why would you think I would hurt him?”

Damian sighed again, this time looking exasperated. “We can save some time by not playing dumb. I know you and my father are now involved. I saw you together the other night… and really, for someone who claims to be in such control of himself, you get distracted rather easily. _Neither_ of you had any idea I was there.”

Clark flushed slightly. “Well, I wish you had had a chance to hear it from us, or just from your father, rather than seeing us. But it’s true… I won’t deny it. But that doesn’t explain why you think I’d hurt him.”

Damian shrugged. “A lot of people have hurt him. He doesn’t deserve for it to happen again.”

Clark nodded. “I know that. Maybe even better than your father realizes I do. And I would never hurt him. I care for him… very deeply. That you can believe.”

“Very well,” Damian replied, nodding. There were no threats issued, surprisingly enough. He didn’t even attempt to look tough. He just looked sincere… and Clark found it very touching. After another moment’s silence the boy stood up and prepared to leave.

“Wait a minute!” Clark exclaimed. “Now that you’re here, I think you should stay here until I let your father know you’re with me and we find out what he wants to do about it.”

Damian clucked his tongue. “And why should I?”

“Because it would make things easier for everyone if you did,” Clark replied.

Damian rolled his eyes and slumped down in the chair, and Clark had to laugh. For the first time since this little meeting had begun, Damian looked like the child he was. Clark pulled out his phone and sent a quick text to Bruce, saying that he had something that belonged to him. After a brief back and forth, it was decided that Clark would return the boy to his father (after he finished writing his story, of course).

Bruce had eventually made the decision for Clark very easy. “You could send him home by himself, but if you bring him here, I get to see you both.” And that sounded just about perfect.

**Author's Note:**

> For anyone who doesn't know (or knows them by a different name) [this](http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h147/fairywasteland/writing%20references/6a00d83452e1a069e2017ee57c747e970d-800wi_zps40c5409d.jpg) is a Ho-Ho.


End file.
